Lady Pacers claim victory at JCD Invitational

Switzerland County beats 11 different schools

(OSGOOD, Ind.) -- The Lady Pacers Varsity Cross Country team was crowned champions of the Jac-Cen-Del Invitational on Saturday morning, coming in 1st place out of 11 schools.

Under near perfect running conditions, Freshman Ellie Keith and Junior Claire Rogers paced each other throughout the race taking second and third place overall in the field of 56 participants. Keith covered the 3.1 mile course in a new PR of 21:43 and Rogers followed closely in a season best 21:52.

“I have been trying to tell the girls since the first day of practice that they can be a very competitive team season and today really showed what we are capable of doing when we bring our best effort on race day,” said Lady Pacer coach Tye Sullivan.

“Cross Country is a tough sport, both mentally and physically, so it is great to see the kids enjoying themselves but continuing to work hard," Sullivan added.

Sophomore Lainie McAlister set a new PR in 23:23 (10th) to secure her top ten finish. The Lady Pacer pack times continue to improve as Amber Detmer finished in a season best 23:48 (14th) and Carlee Boggs ran her most complete race of the season, finishing in 24:22 (17th).

“I have told the girls that in these big meets and at the conference it may come down to how strong our 4-5-6 runners finish,” says Sullivan. “We have to keep working to close that gap with the top three and I am confident we can do it.”

Junior Ashlyn Covington finished in 24:29 (19th), securing her spot amongst the top 25 overall finishers. Jazmyn Blevins finished in 27:49 (44th) and Icia Calvo finished in 30:15 (50th).

The Lady Pacers are back in action Tuesday night at home versus Milan and Shawe Memorial. The race is slated to begin at 6pm.

Article submitted by Tye Sullivan